1. Field Teachings
The present teachings relate to, generally, a clutching differential and, more particularly, such a differential that is collapsible upon itself during installation thereof into a corresponding housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A locking differential of the type contemplated by the present teachings is employed as a part of a drive train of a vehicle to control torque and generally includes a pair of clutch members supported in a housing (or casing). A pair of side gears is splined for rotation to corresponding axle half-shafts. A clutch mechanism is interposed between the clutch members and side gears. A cross-pin is operatively mounted for rotation with the housing and received in a pair of opposed grooves formed on inwardly facing surfaces of the clutch members. In an event requiring differential rotation between the axle half-shafts, such as cornering, the higher-speed axle half-shaft advances its clutch to an over-running condition, decoupling it from the torque. If driving terrain provides insufficient fraction to activate the over-running condition of the differential or while driving in a straight line, the torque is applied equally to both axle half-shafts.
A clutching (or locking) type of the differential is generally employed in a four-wheel-drive vehicle or the like, thereby permitting rugged off-road operation of the vehicle. This type of differential is well-known in the aftermarket as a retrofit unit. More specifically, the differential can be retrofitted into an existing conventional housing, such as an original-equipment housing, of the drive train.
The housing for a differential can be “one-piece” or “two-piece.” For instance, since the height (dimension that is defined along the rotational axis and can be described also as the “length” or “width”) of the differential can be substantial, most original-equipment housings are two-piece to allow the differential to be assembled/installed in or inserted into a first piece of a particular housing before the second piece of the housing is reunited with the first piece to, thereby, enclose the differential. Typically, however, an “open” type of the differential is designed to be employed with one-piece housings. Unfortunately, the height of the retrofit of the gearless clutching differentials of the type commonly known in the related art are often too great for the unit to be assembled/installed into the one-piece housings.